To ensure an effective product, software testing is essential. From functional to non-functional testing, ensuring you have tried and checked every aspect of the software can provide a range of benefits. For example, it can help to improve the cost-effectiveness of your project by spotting issues in the early phases.
Software testing techniques also help to review and strengthen security which is essential for the current GDPR rules in place.
Software testing also helps to verify the quality of the product, giving you peace of mind before releasing it into the market.
When it comes to checking the software, it is essential to conduct a range of tests for comprehensive results. This means it is vital to have an understanding of a variety of different software testing techniques and an ability to deploy these different techniques effectively.
Types Of Software Testing
There are two main types of software testing: white box and black box techniques.
Black box testing focuses on testing software from the point of view of the user and doesn’t require the tester to know the programming languages of the software or how it has been implemented.
White box testing is where the tester analyses the internal structure of the software. It is called white box, clear box, glass box or open box testing as the tester can clearly see the ‘inside’ of the system. Some may also refer to white box testing as code-based testing or structural testing.
At TSG Training, we offer a one-day highly interactive course for
Software Testing Techniques. This course involves discussing a variety of testing techniques including white box and black box techniques. Learners can then discover more about these techniques through practical workshops and project simulations. Some of the software testing techniques that you can learn more about during the course include;
Five Popular Software Testing Techniques
Decision Table Based Testing
Also known as a cause-effect table, a decision table is a testing technique that can check functions that require a combination of inputs or events. For example, this could be a questionnaire or data form where a user has to enter text into all of the required fields.
To create a decision table, you can add the various inputs into rows and then enter all of the rules into columns. You can then fill the table with all of the combinations of inputs. In the final row, you can note the output against the input combination.
Boundary Value Analysis
As errors typically occur at the boundaries of input values, boundary value analysis is a type of testing that exercises the bounding values. The test summarises that if the system works well for the particular values testing, then it will work well for all values between the two boundaries.
For Boundary Value Analysis, it is essential to test the input conditions outside of the boundaries. For example, in testing input conditions between one and ten, then Boundary Value Analysis should test values above and below these conditions, e.g. zero and eleven.
State Transition
Another form of software testing is State Transition which is used to evaluate system behaviour and will typically assess what happens when a user begins a sequence of events. An example of this is entering a password. If a user enters a password incorrectly, they will receive a prompt. If they enter their password incorrectly three times in a row, then access to the account will be blocked for a period of time.
This type of testing is often diagrammed as a flow chart to demonstrate the different scenarios for each step of the sequence and the sequence as a whole.
Equivalence Class Partitioning
Equivalence Class Partitioning is a software testing technique that allows you to separate test conditions, and the output should be considered the same. This technique will enable you to work out which are valid and invalid equivalence classes and ensure they reach the right result.
For example, A-E is valid, but F-J is invalid, and K-O is valid, but P-T is invalid.
So, for this testing, you could expect an input of C to be a valid result but H to deliver an invalid result.
Error Guessing
This technique uses the software analyst’s experience to guess where issues may lie in the testing application. It is essentially is predicting where problems might be in the code. This may be because the code is particularly complex in certain areas.
So, for this, a software analyst will write a test case that will expose potential errors or error-prone situations. As this is an experienced-based test, as software tester can use their knowledge of previous tests and past experience to identify conditions that may also affect this new software code.
Want to find out more about software testing techniques?
If you want to learn more about how to conduct software tests in accordance with ISO/IEC/IEEE29119 Software Testing Standards, then join TSG Training for a one-day course that is ideal for system testers, software developers, test managers, engineers and consultants.
We offer this course as a public or private course if you have several delegates in your team that require training. Furthermore, there is no exam requirement for this particular training.
Find out more
here. Alternatively, you can call the team on
08000 199337, who will be happy to find the best training course to suit your needs.
